Movie review: ‘Testament of Youth’

In Ex Machina, Alicia Vikander displayed a combination of flintiness and femininity as the cyborg Ava, a humanlike form of artificial intelligence that was learning about the way the world works for the first time.

As the almost equally inexperienced protagonist of Testament of Youth, Vera Brittain’s memoir about coming of age during World War I, the Swedish actress taps even greater reservoirs of resolve and vulnerability.

She positively smolders in the role — in an intense but nonsexual way — capturing both Vera’s innocence and her headstrong will. The performance is a subtle tour de force of feeling and restraint, made all the more remarkable by the whiplash highs and lows of this true but melodramatic tale.

Testament of Youth centers on the 20-something Vera, who puts aside her college studies at Oxford after one year when war breaks out. Working as a field nurse, she becomes the heart and soul of a tightknit group of soldiers include her younger brother Edward (Taron Egerton); her fiancé Roland (Kit Harington); her not-so-secret admirer Victor (Colin Morgan); and, less prominently, Edward’s friend — and, as some have speculated, possible lover — Geoffrey (Jonathan Bailey).

What this aspiring writer, who went on to become a notable pacifist, learns about love, sacrifice, heartbreak and the ravages of war could — and did — fill a book. Published in 1933, Testament of Youth became an instant hit. It was followed by two other memoirs: Testament of Friendship (1940) and Testament of Experience (1957).

The circumstances of Vera’s education in the school of hard knocks are, on occasion, almost implausibly well — which is to say badly — timed. If this tale were entirely fictional, it would be tough to swallow some of the tragedies that Vera endures, one of which she learns of on her wedding day.

Vikander never goes for the easy emotion, though, choosing instead to play against what conventional melodrama would dictate her reaction should be. This understatedness is always the right choice, and it makes for a far more effective — and affecting — film.

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This story was originally published June 25, 2015 at 4:15 PM with the headline "Movie review: ‘Testament of Youth’."